Little Theatre of Fall River staging '9 to 5 The Musical'

Director Aaron Gendreau-Visco chose the musical about three secretaries taking revenge on their sexist male boss almost a year before the Women's Movement gained momentum.

Female empowerment is served alongside plenty of laughs in Little Theatre of Fall River’s “9 to 5 The Musical.”

Director Aaron Gendreau-Visco chose the musical about three secretaries taking revenge on their sexist male boss almost a year before the Women’s Movement gained momentum over the past several months. “I thought about directing it for a few years now. I remember the movie as a kid.... being this iconic movie with three great characters, but as a kid, I don’t think I really understood the message of it,” said Gendreau-Visco.

The stage production essentially follows the story of the movie, released in 1980 with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton as the trio of secretaries, each one impacted in different ways by their boss, Franklin Hart, played by Dabney Coleman.

A father of two teenaged daughters, Gendreau-Visco said one of the reasons he selected the piece is because he wanted his daughters to see how far women have come since then.

“When you think about women’s rights, equal pay, the glass ceiling, sexual harassment in the workplace, sexism — all of that stuff that was happening in 1980 when the movie first came out. I want them to know how far we’ve come, and also how far we have to go. We’ve made some strides, but all of those themes are still prevalent in our political discourse and our social discourse. Even though this takes place in 1979, the story and the message is so relevant to what’s happening in today’s world,” said Gendreau-Visco.

Little Theatre’s production features Erica Vitelli as Violet Newstead, Kelsie Brejcha as Doralee Rhodes and Shandy Monte-Raposa as Judy Bernly.

“It’s been great working with these three leading women who are all fantastic in their own way,” said Gendreau-Visco. “They’re amazing and it’s great to work with them.”

Joey Rapoza, husband in real life to Shandy Rapoza, is taking on role of Franklin Hart. The couple’s last time on the Little Theatre stage was about 10 years ago for “Jeckyl and Hyde.” “We’re really happy to have them back,” said Gendreau-Visco. “Joey does a fantastic job of playing the sexist, egotistical, hypocritical lying bigot Franklin Hart.”

On top of the leading roles, he said the production features a great ensemble cast with lots of characters that will be familiar to audiences who have seen the movie. The cast also includes Lisa Huntington, Chris Benevides, Dan Guay, Preston Daponte, Jason Gendreau-Visco, Lisa Tavares, Jennifer DaPonte, Jennifer DaPonte, Kirsten Bryan, Dan Rezendes, Jeff Belanger, Dan Rezendes, Roland Dube, Lilah Gendreau and Chris Savino.

Patricia Resnick, who wrote the screenplay for the film, also wrote the book for the musical production. “The other thing I think is really nice is Dolly Parton wrote all the lyrics and music. I think she had a really good understanding of the characters. As you watch the show unfold all of the songs are in these perfect places that help to tell the story,” said Gendreau-Visco.

Under the direction of Gendreau-Visco and assistant director Deborah Sadler, the production crew also includes musical director Bobby Perry and choreographers Nina Calvo and Raylin Medina. Pit crew singers Derek Carvalho, Michael Gendreau, Tracy Fiore, Vanessa Raposa and Kennedy Ryan will accompany a live 10-piece orchestra.

The two-hour production is a high-energy, fast-moving musical that promises to have audiences out of their seats dancing by the end of the show. “It’s fun, from the minute it opens and you hear that iconic ‘9 to 5’ beat playing. It really moves from that moment on. I think people will enjoy it. It’s a nice trip down memory lane for those of us who are old enough to remember the movie,” said Gendreau-Visco. “We’re also hoping to attract a new generation of young women who will learn through these characters women can do anything they want, even in a man’s world, and sometimes they can do it even better.”

Little Theatre of Fall River’s “9 to 5 The Musical” will be on stage at Bristol Community College’s Margaret L. Jackson Performing Arts Center, 777 Elsbree St., Fall River, Thursday, May 18 to Saturday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 21 at 2 p.m. For tickets, and more information, email tix@littletheatre.net or call 508-675-1852.